Herod's Unlawful Oath

Today on Renewing Your Mind at the rodeo's processes. This is the day I've been waiting for.

This is what I've worked behind-the-scenes day and night for this is our golden opportunity.

You go back and you say to the king. I want the head of John the Baptist on a platter. John the Baptist was the first Christian witness.

He knew Jesus from his childhood and proclaim the good news of the Messiah. All Israel, but his preaching got a little too personal for some in John's life was threatened today on Renewing Your Mind. We continue Dr. RC Sproles verse by verse sermon series from the Gospel of Mark. It's become an axiom repeated so often that it is often unaccompanied by any argument to defend it.

That's power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Course, there's something inherently wrong with that axiom and that the only being who possesses absolute power is God himself and his absolutely without corruption, but the un-spoken assumption of the axiom is that it refers to human banks and if you want to see on restricted corruption manifested just give you a human being on restrained power.

The rogues gallery of evil people is filled predominantly with rulers.

People who are not accountable or answerable to anybody beyond them, so we see this with Pharaoh in Exodus, the Pharaoh's arrogance Pharaoh's power. Pharaoh's wickedness and cruelty was an expression of the freedom from restraint that he enjoyed as the most powerful ruler in the world of his day.

While Herod here is not of the same level of power of a Hitler or Stalin or of a Pharaoh or by Nero but in his local environment. He wielded almost absolute power and we see in this man on restrained evil and wickedness like his father. He was known for his licentious lifestyle.

He was known for his cruel liberty and it is because of his wickedness that he has this unfortunate encounter with John the Baptist. But what I find striking in the text here is what we read in verse 21st we heard how much Herodias hated and despised John and how she wanted to kill him, just as Jezebel was after the life of Elijah through her wicked husband Ahab in the Old Testament because the prophet thundered against their immorality. So Herodias is furious with this man who was attacking the legitimacy of her marriage, but now we get this note about Garrett's attitude, where it says this for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him and when he heard him, he did many things and hurt him gladly watch with this. This is so out of character of this monster who is ruling there in Galilee that when he heard John speak even though John was denouncing the actions of Agrippa. Nevertheless, he had this admiration, respect, interest he heard him gladly while the single greatest restraint for evil, that God has put in this world is conscience and the most wicked person. Even people who were described as being without conscience is being sociopath or psychopath.

Nevertheless have not been able to annihilate altogether. That voice of right and wrong that God has implanted in every human creature. Remember that the law of God is not known merely from the 10 Commandments, or from the pages of sacred scriptures.

The apostle Paul labors, death reigned from Adam to Moses, and that's because sin reigned from Adam to Moses, and Paul argues that where there is no law there can be no sin, no sin, no deaths, and so the point that the apostle makes is that from day one before the 10 Commandments were ever delivered.

God planted his law internally in the conscience of every human being on this is dangerous. We have to be careful that it will become seduced by Walt Disney and begin to think like Jiminy Cricket that we should let our consciences be our guy because if we follow our consciences at every point. Beloved, they will guide us into disaster. Why, because even though God plants conscience in the mind of every creature through our repeated transgressions through our ongoing sin, we have the ability to put calluses on our conscience and we learn how to silence the voice of conscience and almost completely eradicated. That is, our consciences can be distorted, they can be twisted and if you let your conscience alone be your guide, you will probably live a life of unrestrained wickedness. But as far as you go in your wickedness as much as you seek to quiet and stifle your conscience, you won't be able to destroy the people that you know in this world who are hostile to the things of God who have no qualms about the godless behavior in which they are involved every day. Nevertheless, do not always sleep easily at night when they put their head on the pillow. They know and they know that they know that how they are living is not good.

So I think that explains to some degree. At least this attraction. This fascination that Herod Agrippa had with John the Baptist the turn of the century for the 19th century the 20th century German theologian and sociologist studied human beings reaction to whatever they deem to be holy and he found within it a certain fascination that holiness both is repulsive to the center unit has a certain fascination. We know that were not holy. We know that our lives are not right.

We don't want to hear judgments against us.

And yet when the holy comes near as fearful as it is. We have a certain attraction. You see, that's how God has made us he's made us so that we cannot totally eradicate the voice of conscience and so when John comes into the presence of Herod Harris fascinated notice what he says and said of him. Herod feared John, why because he knew that he was a just and the holy man, why would he fear him because he knew this just mentally mate why because Agrippa knew that he was not just me and Agrippa knew that he was not a holy man I tell this story many times have you heard of before, but an interesting experience. It was related to me of a friend of mine who was once on the PGA golf tour in America and he had a friend who was had been voted the golfer of the year. This is decades ago and said he was the defending champion of a given golf tournament that was held in the South and in the Pro-Am to that event today. He was paired with Jack Nicholas Billy Graham and the president of the United States. That's quite a force in the reigning golfer of the year.

Present United States Jack Nicholas the golfer of the century and Billy Graham and after the round of golf.

This man stormed off the 18th green one over to the practice tee took his driver out of his bag and started beating drives out into the practice area in a state of fury and my friend was watching all this said to him, what's the matter he said I don't need to have Billy Graham forcing religion down my throat. Then he went back to pounding the drives down the practice to when he was finished and put his club back in the bag. A friend walked over to him and said Billy really came on strong to the golfer hung his head and he said now now actually go in and say a word about religion. I just had a bad run fascinating.

Billy Graham didn't say a single word about religion to this man, but Billy Graham didn't have to his mere presence and what he represented to this golfer was enough to make him supremely uncomfortable. This golfer was like Herod Agrippa in front of John the Baptists I know who he is. He suggest man.

I can't deny that he suggest man.

He is a holy person I know that he's a holy person I'm fascinated by him. I don't want to kill him. I'll put them in jail. My wife Abby.

I'm in a protective so this is the posture that Herod takes with respect to Joan within an opportune day came when Herod on his birthday, gave a feast for his nobles, Baha'i officers, the chief men of Galilee, the guest list was Who's Who in Galilee. It was the A-list, the elite listed fact this brief narrative brings to mind a similar feast in the Old Testament when Belshazzar gathered all of his chief satraps around in the leaders in his kingdom and through this munificent banquet for them and you remember what happened while he was making toast using the stolen sacred vessels of the Jews, and all of the people who had invited where there were facing the king, king looks over their heads up that back wall of us a new series hand writing on the wall in his niece begin to buckle teeth begin the chatter sees this and finally it's the message later, Manny, Manny, take a look Larson you been weighed in the balance and found wanting men almost as a concluding unscientific postscript the end of the chapter reads and on that night was Belshazzar king of the Chaldeans slain the night just like that were Agrippa gathers all of his leaders. All of the noblemen.

All of the princes of the earth and of the land to this tremendous birthday party huge feast and celebration and the featured guest of the night was his stepdaughter. The Bible doesn't give her name, but Josephus, the Jewish historian does another name that is ranked up there with Jezebel is the name Salome, who was invited to the feast to perform a dance and if you examine the background of this text culturally. You know that this dance was not ballet may be Galilee, but not ballet. This was clearly an erotic dance, sensuous dance that made the men who were at this feast exceedingly happy, and Agrippa sees the dance sees the reaction of his chief lieutenants do it and he's pleased with his stepdaughter said when Herodias's daughter came in and danced and pleased Herod and this is critical, and those who sat with him.

King said to the girl ask for whatever you want, I'll give it to ask me anything you have rung the bell here is really pleased my guest asked me anything up to half of my kingdom. I'll give you as a reward for this performance. Don't take that literally.

This was a common expression of rollers in antiquity. I will give up to half my kingdom is simply an idiom that was used to express this idea.

I am prepared to reward you and I will reward you greatly. I will be exceedingly generous in my reward to you. So Salome hearing this goes out and she speaks to her mother, Herodias, and she says mom. He said I can have anything.

What should I ask for Herodias masseuses. This is the day I've been waiting for. This is what I've worked behind-the-scenes day and night for this is our golden opportunity.

You go back and you say to the king.

I want the head of John the Baptist on a platter. When the king heard that Mark tells us that the king was exceedingly sorry now never dreamed that that's what she would ask for. I've been protecting John get them in prison put a muzzle on a mechanic about the countryside preaching about my immorality. But I want to kill but notice what it says here, but because of the oath, and because of those who sat with him. He did not want to refuse her. It doesn't say because of his commitment to justice because of his commitment to righteousness. They didn't want to carry out this diabolical act, but his first excuse was the oath. I think there's a reason why in the Westminster confession of faith, which is the confession of faith of this church. There's an entire chapter devoted to lawful oaths and involves we are a people who have lost our understanding of the sanctity of oats we make promises willy-nilly. We promise certain things before God and before witnesses before family before the church and then as soon as the services over we forget about them yet at the same time, beloved, though the Bible warns us that it is better not to file them to vial and not pay that there are some bows that we take some oaths that we take that are unlawful and should not be fulfilled. Member Jeff is bowel in the Old Testament. The first person walked to the door all sacrifice the sow's daughter through the door.

He had no right to make that and having made it not only should he not keep the bow he must not keep the ball because he vowed to do something that God forbids and so the vow that Herod Agrippa makes here is an on lawful about the oath that he swears to Salome is ungodly in which he holds it to them. He says well I guess I have to do it. I promised, as if keeping promises were something sacred to this man but you see the problem really faced was where he made the oath, and when he made the house all of the princes. All of the a list all of the opinion makers of his society heard him make a promise for because he made the promise because all those who were there heard him make the promise he acted swiftly. It says immediately. The king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought and he went and beheaded him in prison brought his head on a platter gave to the group.

What a ghastly story, macabre narrative.

This is what a birthday party in the middle of party somebody severed head is brought in the display to the guests. And guess what folks they left they left.

That's what happens among pagans is what happens among barbarians several decades ago, a leading theologian in America said that American culture had become neo-pagan that is that. Can't really speak of America's being a Christian culture anymore paganism has taken over. But today it's commentators say no neopagan is far too innocent a term to describe us.

Our culture has become barbarian. I was educated we think nothing of slaughtering 1,000,000 1/2 babies every year that's barbarian. Historically that only happens in barbarian cultures, but once it's legal. It's okay everything is there not bringing the heads on platters to us barbarians love a culture of death. They were the ones who love the blood of the martyrs on the sands of the Coliseum floor and in the Circus Maximus. So those chiefs princes were amused to go back to their friends, and I think you can't believe what happened last night at King Agrippa's party. What a dance and this God who thought he was a prophet got his head cut off and they brought and showed it on a platter like a pig without Apple stuck in its mouth. The disciples heard of it, that is John's disciples. They came took away the corpse and related to respect their leader mutilated his body before should come with this since it John chapter 15 Jesus says remember the word that I said to you, a servant is not greater that his master if they persecuted me, they will also persecute you see the beginnings of that in John the Baptist, martyrdom, and next week will see God's faithfulness, even in this difficulty were making our way through the gospel of Mark here on the Sunday edition of Renewing Your Mind work.

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